Booktalking "Your Destination Is On the Left," "Gemini" and "Royal Crush"
Dessa and Cyrus and their families travel together in a caravan of recreational vehicles. "The Families," as Cy and Dessa refer to them, are a cohesive unit. They vote on where to travel, spend a bit of time in a particular city, and then go on to the next destination. The kids are homeschooled, and are accustomed to living in tight quarters.
Dessa's younger brother, Rodney, is constantly begging to sleep in her bed. Dessa yearns to be together with Cy, but knows it would be so complicated for the families if the two broke up. She loves art and sketching, and longs to attend college, but when it appears her tertiary learning goals will not be realized, the young woman is devastated. Luckily for her, Cy applied for a special internship on her behalf.
Dessa could not be in a greater state of disbelief when she hears the news: She is accepted. She receives an internship with Fiona, a renowned visual artist, an internship she did not even apply for. The girl is delighted and very relieved when the families vote to move to Santa Fe for her to pursue this opportunity. Fiona is eccentric, dedicated, passionate about art, and demanding of her new intern. Dessa flourishes under her tutelage… and also learns something about herself along the way.
Your Destination Is On the Left by Lauren Spieller, 2018
This is an interesting look into the world of travelers.
Clara and Hailey have spent every minute of their 17 years on earth together… literally. They are conjoined twins who live in Bear Pass, a rural town small enough for all of their neighbors and schoolmates to have met them. Their parents' goal has always been to reduce the incidents of staring and bullying. Through years of practice, the twins have adjusted to movement, constant life together, and their disability.
The future looms ahead; possibilities that simultaneously entice and scare the young women. Choosing to go to college is on all the high school seniors' minds, including Clara and Hailey's. They want to leave the small town and live with their friends, Juanita and Bridget. Their parents, however, are understandably trepidatious about such a big move. The twins have never left Bear Pass, not even for a day trip to a city. One of them wants to go to art school, while the other longs for film school. Going to different schools seems to be a logistic impossibility… unless they are surgically separated. That is an extremely complicated procedure that could mean death or disability for both of them.
Then come Max and Alek. Hailey is smitten with Alek, who paints dark scenes, meant to throw a smidgen of doubt into the semblance of perfect realities. Clara wonders if Max will ever like her since she is conjoined with Hailey. The girls have never danced, but very much want to try at the next school dance. Will Max or Alek date them or is that only in their dreams?
Gemini by Sonya Mukherjee, 2016
I loved this look into a very rare condition which affects only one in 100,000 births.
Princess Olivia attends the Royal Genovian Academy with her cousin, Luisa. Luisa is dating Prince Gunther… and the Duke of Marborough, behind the Prince's back. Olivia's days are filled with writing in her notebook, playing with her adorable toy dog, Snowball, and attending a school that teaches her manners and good graces of the royal sort. Her sister, Princess Mia, has recently given birth to twins, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Frank. Their continuous cries ring loud and sharp through the Palace halls.
Grandmere, as always, is the picture of sophistication in her dazzling fashion choices and adroit commentary on Olivia and her life as a middle schooler. Olivia texts her best friend, Nishi, who resides in the United States, about all the events in Genovia. They discuss everything from the twins and her grandmother, to Luisa's philandering. Olivia is deep in the world of a teen schoolgirl; she keeps up with all the football games and endless gossip.
Princess Olivia even takes a stab at skiing, for which Prince Gunther is kind enough to offer lessons. The youngster learns the fundamentals of slowing down and steering, and she is skilled enough to ski beyond the bunny hill. When Olivia accidentally misses her stop, and ends up at the very top of a hill that's way too steep for her, Prince Gunther's amazing folks rush to pull her down the slope safely.
Royal Crush by Meg Cabot, 2017
I loved author Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries, which this book is built upon, and I enjoyed the movie version that starred Anne Hathaway.